The Judas Contract
by InsertAuthorNameHere
Summary: Tara, a girl with geokinetic powers is found near the cave and placed on the team. As events unfold, allegiances are discovered, secrets unfolded, Tara finds her mind being played in a deadly game...
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer-I do not own Young Justice until pigs fly *a pig fly's by*. Okay, I still don't own YJ even when pigs fly. Sigh.**

**This is my first fan fiction so please, bear with me. Constructive criticism appreciated. Flames will be doused with a fire extinguisher.**

Prologue

The ceiling was caving in. Well, that much was obvious. _She_ was the one making it come down on them. First, it cracked, showing the unique layers of the dirt that had formed over the thousands of years. Then, large chunks would fall due to gravity, only to be caught by her wave of power. They would twist; mould themselves to her very command before bringing down the middle aged man in front of her to unconsciousness. This was just a walk in the ball park. The only real trouble came when- _clank_.

The girl cussed to herself as boulders were strewn around, opening up a deep pit full of magma just below her. It bubbled as it sensed the earth-bender above. A silent cry seemingly reached out to her, seemingly shouting _"bend us to your will."_

"Why would I?" She spat.

The voices of it all were one large headache for her, driving her nearly to insanity. She spent all her life trying to block out the voices, which seemed too persistent for their own good. If only moulding them would take those voices away...

A hand placed itself over her shoulder. "We need to go." Her eyes linked to those of Gar-Beastboy as the group fondly called him.

She thought for a moment. "No."

His eyes widened as they seemingly pierced into her soul. He knew of the voices from that moment on, it seemed. The loud voices which nearly drove her to insanity now yelled at them like they did her. Why on this green earth would they not stop yelling?

He tugged at her arm. "We can get you help," was all he said.

Get help? What was that supposed to mean?

She shook her head. "You go," she whispered. "I'm the only one that can stop this."

Tears stained both their cheeks as he drew her into a hug.

"Don't forget me" she whispered as he ran away to safety.

Quickly, she brought her arms in, seemingly drawing all her power to her core. The rocks beside her seemingly hung in for warmth. Gritting her teeth, all her energy came together with rocks and fresh mud digging into her pores. As quickly as it was shoved together, the yellow aura sprang back out as her arms opened up as if receiving a hug.

In that moment, Tara Markov died, while Terra felt more alive than ever before.


	2. Tara

**Well, what a hiatus. Half of this was written then abandoned do to exams. But I'm done! **

**Thanks to the few that put this on their 'favs.' That made my day a while back.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Young Justice or DC comics. Their characters aren't mine, and, yes, even Tara isn't mine. I'm just a fan that like's these 'what if' stories. **

_3 months earlier..._

_July 2_

Tara at one point reckoned she could run a mile if she had to, give or take.

Her body was slim, making it easy to cut through a breeze. The problem was her hair, which was short and would usually fly around her face. At times, she felt at peace, feeling the earth under her, the wind running through her hair. It was normal, so to speak.

Though right now wasn't a time for peace.

Tara ran through the trees, onto the beach as an AMAZO robot chased after her. The soft sand went thoroughly between her open toes, calloused from walking bare footed all the time.

"ACCSESS: SUPERMAN."

She inwardly cursed. How could she be so stupid, knowing it would change powers? Already, it had been Black Canary, who had almost deafened her with its unique canary cry, or Flash, as it ran circles around her.

_Might as well go to plan B_, she thought.

Almost immediately, the AMAZO flew over her, cutting off one of her possible escape routes. It swung its arm to grab her neck, though she ducked just in time. It yelled in rage as she ran along the beach, towards the mountain.

Or was it a volcano?

In the distance, she heard the sound of a harsh cackle, followed by running along the soft sand. The vibrations were enough to tell her a speedster (as she assumed from their fast trek) and at least another three civilians were coming in her direction, possibly more. Well, she _assumed_ they were civilians, as many Meta Humans were known to flock to Happy Harbour due to its status as the first JL base.

"Time to end this," she whispered, raising her palms.

"ACCSESS: BLACK CANARY."

As an arrow narrowly flew past her, Tara swung her arm, freeing boulders from the nearby mountain. Carefully avoiding the advancing group, she flicked her hands in such a way that the boulders landed on top of the AMAZO, crushing it.

"Okay..."

Tara turned around, finding the group she had assumed were civilians. Instead, to her surprise, they wore brightly coloured spandex.

It wasn't even Halloween yet!

"Hiya! Did Halloween come early this year?" Tara asked as six teens approached her.

They stared cautiously at her, as though thinking this odd girl would somehow crush them with a flick of the hand. Well, a flick of the hand with a boulder or two.

"Did she just lead the AMAZO into a trap?" one of them questioned.

This one appeared as though she was an archer to Terra, from the way she held a bow.

"It appears so," another stated, seemingly the leader.

"Guys, I'm right here," Terra said.

To her, they all seemed familiar...

"You're this 'Young Justice' everyone has been talking about, right?" Tara questioned.

"Yes, we are, Beautiful," Flash Boy (or was it Speedy?) said.

"I'm Kid Flash; this over here is Aqualad, Robin, Superboy, Artemis, Beastboy and Miss Martian. They're not important though."

Kid Flash was then smacked across the back of his head by Artemis, who then yelled, "WALLY!"

Tara suppressed a snicker, "Tara."

The group sized her up, making different facial expressions. Finally, Miss Martian floated out to Tara.

"I'm Miss Martian, as you know. Do you have anywhere to stay?" Miss Martian asked, coming forward.

Tara shook her head, wary of the group. "I'm staying at the boulder patch on the other side of the island until I get enough money to get a ferry off the island."

"Then come stay at our place for the night," Beastboy piped up.

"I don't know," Terra said, "I wouldn't want to get in your way or anything. I'll be away from Happy Harbour in a day or two anyway."

"By stealing cash?" Robin asked, "Honestly, you could just ask for a ride."

Terra frowned at the statement, "I guess I could stay for a bit."

"Great!" Kid Flash stated.

The group with her made it over to the 'bioship', explaining as she was a civilian; she couldn't see the actual entrance of 'the cave'.

"For the safety of the league," Aqualad had explained.

Getting to 'the cave', everyone set out to debrief Batman, who, apparently, wasn't amused.

"You brought a civilian into this. Do you know the consequences of this? You also brought her to the mountain which she could easily compromise."

"You told us to bring witnesses," Robin stated, "She was the one who took down the AMAZO."

Batman glared at him. He turned to Tara. "Is this true?"

"To some extent," she replied.

He thought for a moment. "Everyone's dismissed. I would like to talk to you though."

As everyone left, Robin and Beastboy gave glances to them.

"How did you take down the robot?" he asked.

"I'm a geo-kinetic," Tara said sheepishly, "I control the earth."

"How did you get to Happy Harbour?"

"I may have accidently attracted the attention of some frat. Guys heading back to their college dorm," Tara stated, "I snuck on a ferry to get away from them."

If Batman could raise an eyebrow, he probably would have.

"Go take a shower," he said gruffly, "Ask one of the girls for some spare clothes and we'll drop you off somewhere in the morning. And about that," he paused. "I want you on the team. Someone specifically sent the AMAZO after you and it would be...best if you were with others to deal with it. We'll find you if you don't come back."

"I'll take that into consideration," Tara said.

She left him there as he contemplated. She knew she was there so they could keep an eye on her; make sure she wasn't up to anything.

As she left the room, Miss M. stopped her.

"I heard Batman wanted you to stay for the night," she said.

In turn, she led Tara to the washroom.

"Here are some clothes," she stated, also handing her some shampoo and soap. "By the way, my name's M'gann."

"Thanks."

Turning on the hot shower, Tara was glad as sand slid out of her hair, making a thick pile in the tub. The shampoo had turned a dark brown as it trailed down. She put more in her hair, having to use it three more times until all the dirt came out. In the end, she was glad the towels she was using weren't white.

"Guess I really needed a rinse," she said afterwards, somewhat laughing at the site.

Raking her fingers through her hair, she dried it with a nearby hairdryer. It curled, free of grease and other sediment.

"Almost forgot I was blond," she chuckled.

The clothes were what she liked; black cargos which were too big for her and a pale yellow camisole. Both were a little big do to her small size at 4'11, though she didn't mind. Afterwards, she rinsed the tub, though it was stained a brown color from the dirt.

"Whoops," she muttered.

She walked out, following the voices.

"Are you finding your way around?" A voice came from behind Tara.

She jumped around. "Oh, a-yeah...Aqulad."

"Call me Kaldur," he stated.

"I'm actually trying to find something to eat," she confessed. "Is there a kitchen here?"

He then led her to a fully stocked kitchen. Practically drooling, she made her way over to where a steaming pot of casserole was.

"Do you mind?" She asked Kaldur.

"Not at all," he stated.

Grabbing a plate, Tara took a spoon, taking a generous pile of the casserole. It was eaten in less than five minutes.

"Someone's hungry," Kid Flash stated as he went to grab a plate of the casserole. "By the way, the tub looks brown."

Tara only snickered, "Whoops."

She got another helping.

"I'm Wally, by the way," KF stated. "I heard the bats stating he wanted you on the team. Is that true?"

"Apparently so..."

As all trickled in for dinner, Tara couldn't help but notice how tight the group was woven in together, all except for Beastboy, or Garfield. Apparently, he had only been on the team for a month, but before that had helped out unofficially when he was a Doom Patrol member.

Throughout the night, she felt as though she could get used to it, the hilarious insights of Robin with the English language, to Artemis and Wally flirting with one another whilst glaring.

As she fell asleep in one of their guest rooms-her room now, they had stated-she could help but wonder what the future held, what would happen and how things would turn out. She was glad however as she drifted off that the feeling she was being watched was over. The thing was though, she was always been watched...

_She dreamed of the earth, always. It was her home, where she was free to walk, run, though she was always chased. In her dreams, she could get away from it, thinking there was one last place secure for her. It was the one place where she could lie to herself..._

Tara awoke to see pebbles floating in the air. She groaned, bringing them in as she wondered how they got in. Looking around, she spotted a small hole at the bottom of the door. She smirked. Setting the pebbles on her bedside table and putting on a green shirt and jeans Artemis had given her, she made it to the kitchen where M'gann was happily flipping bacon.

"Where is everyone?"

"Only Connor, Gar and I live here at the mountain. Everyone else lives somewhere else. Bacon?"

"Please."

Getting a generous plate of bacon and a side of eggs, Tara sat there at the counter as M'gann cooked.

"Batman said today the league would drop me off somewhere and ask me to come back for team missions," Tara muttered.

"They would let you wander around? Shouldn't you have somewhere to live?" M'gann asked.

Tara tensed. "You know, places to go, people to see. I'd probably be staying here every other day."

"Okay then."

She could tell M'gann wasn't happy that she was 'wandering around', though she couldn't actually tell them anything...

"Where do you want to go?" M'gann asked suddenly. "We have zeta beam tubes that can take you anywhere within JL sectors."

"I think I'll go to Gotham."

"Why Gotham?" M'gann said, startled.

"They have good pancakes."

As M'gann finished cooking the rest of the bacon and ate, she showed Tara the zeta beam tubes.

"Batman set up your designation last night and asked if I could show you out. He also wants you back for tomorrow and says he'll find you."

"Creepy."

"Very."

Stepping in to the tube, she heard her designation as she was ripped apart.

"_Recognized, B08, Terra."_

Tara found herself to what seemed to be a phone booth.

"Okay then."

Stepping out and finding herself in an alley, she smirked. "A telephone box in an alley, that's not suspicious at all."

Cautiously, she made her way to the mouth of the alleyway, making her way to the richer part of Gotham. The sun was just rising as she made her way past a newsstand which proclaimed that the Joker had escaped once again from Arkham, possibly with help. She shook her head, and then paid for one to a kid running it drinking coffee.

Tara made her way to the penthouse suites which housed various socialites in Gotham, saying "Hello," to the doorman as she went inside. Taking the elevator and checking under her nails for dirt, she walked past various rooms, passing her neighbour Mrs. Kyle. She unlocked one at the end of the hallway, clearly the largest on the floor. Stepping inside, she braced herself.

"Tara, where have you been?" her mother asked.

**Constructive criticism is appreciated.**


	3. Explanations

**Mostly a filler. **

**Disclaimer-I don't own Young Justice, DC comics, its characters, etc. If I did, there would be a lot of ranting... **

_July 3_

"Where have you been for the last two weeks? I've been worried sick!" Tara's mother yelled.

"I've been around."

"Tell me before you do these things! It will give me the chance to sleep at night!"

"Mom," Tara stated, "I'm sorry. I was been followed and I had to lose them. I didn't have enough money to call, I swear!"

She glanced at Tara before sighing. "Go feed that tortoise of yours. I have a shift at the hospital anyways. We'll talk later. Right?"

"I'll be here, Mom."

"You'd better be." Tara's mother walked out of the apartment.

Tara sighed, walking through the large family room to her room. She glanced inside, surprised that the door was open. Everything was dusted, which was a surprise, considering. The book she had been reading on her desk was still there, though tucked away to the side. Her pencils and pens had been cleared to the side and on the walls, pictures containing her and her 'mother' were scattered about. Her bed was freshly made. On her dresser, lay a large cage containing one of the only things she loved-her baby tortoise, Samuel.

"Hello, Sam," she said.

Samuel, opening an eye, yawned as he made a trek towards her. Tara opened the cage, picking up Samuel.

"Did you miss me?" she asked.

He nibbled on her ear.

"Alright, I'll get you some cabbage."

Smiling, out of a small fridge tucked under her desk, she grabbed some fresh cabbage (she silently thanked her mother for restocking it), she shredded a bit, placing it in Sam bowl. As he ate, she cleaned up his digs, happy that her mother fed him.

"I would love to bring you along on my adventures, but I can't," She smiled sadly.

Next, pulling off the clothes Artemis had given her, she put on a long sleeved pale yellow blouse and skinny jeans. She then brushed her hair, wincing at the knots. She put it in a messy bun, along with a flowered hair band. She pondered whether or not to put on makeup, but decided against it, seeing as no one was around.

Tara then cleaned out Samuel's cage, replacing the water. She walked around for a bit, putting water in various plants and turning on the TV in her room. When she got bored of watching the latest Gotham Gossip, she turned it off, going to the kitchen to get some lunch. She made a bowl of Ramen from her secret stash, retreating back to her room to play with Samuel. It was near dark when her mother came home.

"Was the hospital alright?" Tara asked her mother as she straightened up her hair.

"Only a car accident, nothing major..."

They sat down in the family room, drinking tea as they usually did at this time of day.

Finally, her mother asked, "what were you doing for two weeks?"

Tara looked at her mother. Dr. Helga Jace was a widely known doctor, working at Gotham General Hospital in the Emergency Room. She was a no small chat woman, usually straight to the point, believing in no nonsense. Unlike Tara, who was 4'11, blonde with blue eyes, Helga was 5'6, red haired with brown eyes. If you would have put them together, you'd say they barely even looked related-which, as Tara knew, was the case since Helga wasn't her actual birth mother...

Tara sighed, "I was been followed-_again_-and snuck on a ferry. I thought the ferry was one of those tourist ones that would let the passengers off in an hour. I didn't expect to be stranded at a small island for two weeks!"

Helga shook her head. "Tara, you're only fourteen. I get worried when you do this. Just be glad I didn't tell your father."

Tara stared at her. "I'll try not to do it again. No promises, though."

"Good. Now, clean that up now if you're done."

Tara smiled as she put her tea cup to the side. "Oh, by the way, Mom, can I go out tomorrow?"

"Just don't travel outside Gotham. Oh, and Tara, you don't need to ask, it's summer for crying out loud. Go out, meet new people, and don't do anything stupid. Now, help me make dinner."

They stayed like that the rest of the night, talking about their day and silently laughing. What they didn't realize was that Batman was watching them in the shadows, contemplating if his decision was the right one.

**Constructive criticism is appreciated. Thank you to the few who read this. Unfortunately, since this is an experiment, you may not be getting many chapters as the only feedback I get is 'watch lists' (which confuses me-you're curious?). So the next chapter you may get may be... a long time after it's written. **


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